Should You Apply for the Capital One Venture Rewards Card?

If you sat down and thought about what your perfect credit card would consist of, what would come to mind? Probably a high signup bonus, the ability to earn double miles on all your purchases and most definitely a low annual fee. Well, this card does exist — in the form of the Capital One Venture Rewards card.

This is a truly unique credit card, which is why it’s so popular. Not only does it have a high signup bonus and give you the ability to earn more than just a single mile on purchases, it also gives you flexibility when redeeming your rewards. In this Capital One Venture Rewards review, we’ll break down the card’s features and give you a couple of great alternatives.

What Are the Capital One Venture Rewards Card Details?

Here, you’ll find more details on the Capital One rewards card. Be sure to read the card agreement for its full terms.

Signup Bonus: You will receive 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months of account opening.

Base Rewards: You will receive twice the miles on every single purchase that you make. Cardholders can also earn 10x the miles on purchases made with their card at hotels.com/venture.

Ancillary Benefits: If you are planning to travel outside of the U.S., you can use your Capital One Venture Rewards card without foreign transaction fees. This card also comes with a number of MasterCard benefits, including price protection, travel protection, extended warranty and 24/7 concierge service.

Annual Fee: $0 intro for first year; $95 after that.

APR: 14.24% - 24.24% (Variable)

The Pros and Cons of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card

If you were to speak with current Capital One Venture cardholders, you’d probably hear similar things: They love the signup bonus, earning double miles on every purchase and how flexible it is to redeem the miles they earn. Typically, travel cards have fairly limited redemption options. Co-branded airline cards are limited to just one airline and any alliance members they might have, for instance.

But the Capital One Venture card is different. You will be able to redeem your miles for any travel expense, be it airfare, hotel rooms, car rentals, cruises, or anything else Capital One codes as a travel expense. There are no blackout dates, which means you can use miles on any airplane seat or hotel room. And every 100 miles equals a $1 statement credit. That means the 50,000 mile signup bonus could be worth $500 toward your next trip.

If you want to look for any negatives with the Capital One Venture card, it would probably be that there is no way to stretch the value of a mile earned. Each mile is always going to be worth one cent each. In contrast, you could carry a co-branded airline card and the miles you earn can have different values, sometimes higher than one cent per point, and sometimes lower. The reasoning is because different flights have different cash costs even though they might cost the same number of miles. In the end, consumers like flexibility.

Our Picks for Alternatives to the Capital One Venture Card

If you’re not completely sold on the Capital One rewards card, here are a couple alternatives that can provide the same kind of flexibility.

Why We’re Mentioning It: This card is probably the most similar to the Capital One Venture card. They both have a lot of flexibility, and you can redeem 100 miles for a $1 statement credit toward any travel expense.

Enjoy 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days — that's enough to redeem for a $400 travel statement credit toward an eligible travel purchase

Earn 2X miles on all purchases

Get 5% miles back to use toward your next redemption, every time you redeem

Miles don't expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing

No foreign transaction fees on purchases made while traveling abroad

0% introductory APR for 12 months on Balance Transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 17.24%, 21.24% or 24.24%, based on your creditworthiness. There is a fee for balance transfers.

Card Details +

Signup Bonus: You will receive 40,000 miles after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days. These 40,000 miles are valued at $400.

Base Rewards: You will earn two miles for every purchase you make.

Ancillary Benefits: There are no foreign transaction fees, which makes this card perfect if you are traveling outside of the U.S. When you go to redeem your miles, you will receive 5% back as a statement credit.

Annual Fee: $89 - waived first year

APR: Intro: 0% for 12 months (on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening), and an APR of 17.24%, 21.24% or 24.24% Variable thereafter.

BankAmericard Travel Rewards Credit Card

Why We’re Mentioning It: Like the other cards, this one also gives you the flexibility of redeeming your rewards on any travel expense, with no blackout dates.

Signup Bonus: You will receive 20,000 points after spending just $1,000 with the first 90 days. These 20,000 points are valued at $200.

Base Rewards: You will earn an unlimited 1.5 points on every purchase that you make.

Ancillary Benefits: To start, you will be able to use this card abroad without paying foreign transaction fees. In addition, your reward-earning potential will increase if you are a Bank of America banking customer. Standard customers will receive a 10% bonus on points redeemed; Preferred clients can earn a bonus of 25% to 75%.

At publishing time, the Capital One Venture Rewards, Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard and BankAmericard Travel Rewards Credit Card are offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com is compensated if our users apply and ultimately sign up for these cards. However, these relationships do not result in any preferential editorial treatment.

Note: It’s important to remember that interest rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products frequently change. As a result, rates, fees and terms for credit cards, loans and other financial products cited in these articles may have changed since the date of publication. Please be sure to verify current rates, fees and terms with credit card issuers, banks or other financial institutions directly.

This article was last updated September 21st, 2017.

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